News and developments on Freedom of Information in the UK. This blog is run by the Campaign for Freedom of Information. It was established in May 2003 by Steve Wood, who ran it until the end of February 2007 when he took up the post of Assistant Commissioner at the Information Commissioner's Office.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

"The Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) is a network of civil society organisations promoting openness at the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Investment Bank and Regional Development Banks. The GTI believes that people have a right to information held by public institutions and a right to participate in the development policies and projects that affect their lives. IFIs exercise significant influence and yet access to critical information from these institutions remains difficult. Despite some encouraging moves towards greater openness, the IFIs are still unacceptablysecretive.

The GTI is drafting an IFI Transparency Charter, a founding document of the GTI movement, setting out the standards and norms that we believe should govern IFI disclosure policy, and the principles that should guide its practice. As such, it is essential that the Charter reflect widespread consensus among the broader community of groups and individuals who believe in IFI openness.

We are currently in the process of finalising the Charter and today, 28 September 2005, Right to Know Day, we are launching a final round of consultations on this key document. We encourage all those who support the movement for greater openness at the IFIs to comment on the draft Charter and also to encourage feedback from a wider range of individuals and groups. The initial set of principles are the Charter itself, while them rest of the document provides commentary on these core principles.